Honor at Reed

The Accountability Process

Interpersonal problems occur at Reed. They happen at all schools, but here we don’t have lots of rules and enforcement mechanisms to control people’s behavior; we have the Honor Principle.

In a system based on self-governance, you are the enforcement mechanism: it is your responsibility, as a member of the Reed community, both to think about how your actions affect others and to hold other people accountable for their actions. So, when someone has pissed you off, made you uncomfortable, or infringed on your rights in some way, what should you do?

Honor Process for Conflicts Between Students

Click here for a detailed description of the honor process. If you are in need of disability-related accommodations or have questions about accessibility at any point in engaging in the judicial process, please contact Judicial Board Advisors. Their contact information can be found on the membership page.

 

Note that faculty and staff have different venues through which honor issues are resolved if mediation does not work. 

judicial review process flowchart detailing specific roles

Issue Arises All conflicts between Reed community members are subject to the Honor Principle.
Informal Discussion The honor principle encourages members of the community to resolve their grievances through open dialogue.
Formal Mediation Any member of the community may request a trained mediator to assist in resolving an issue. Trained mediators may be requested when informal mediation is unsuccessful, or when involved parties prefer the assistance of mediators in resolving the case.
Honor Case heard by Judicial Board When formal mediation fails to resolve the conflict, a complainant may bring his or her case to the proper hearing board. Cases involving alleged sexual misconduct should be brought to the Title IX Board, otherwise, if school is in session, cases should be brought to the student J-Board. 
The J-Board is not to be used as the first step towards resolution, unless the particular offence cannot be mediated because of its nature (e.g. cases of alleged sexual assault, violence or academic misconduct).
Appeal If participants in a conflict are dissatisfied by the outcome of the J-Board hearing, they may be granted an appeal. See the Judicial Board code for details on the Appeals process.
Resolution Resolution is achieved when all parties involved in a grievance are satisfied with the outcome of mediation or a judicial board decision.